Jan 19 2009 5:31PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Security,
SSL,
TLS,
SSL VPN,
IP Sec VPN
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is SSL VPN
An SSL VPN (Secure Sockets Layer virtual private network) is a form of VPN that can be used with a standard Web browser. In contrast to the traditional IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) VPN, an SSL VPN does not require the installation of specialized client software on the end user’s computer. An SSL VPN is used to provide remote users with access to Web applications, client/server applications and internal network connections.
Are you a Know-IT-All? Test your knowledge of tech vocabulary!
Secret Word of the Day
In this kind of attack, the bad guy intercepts a message in a public key exchange and then retransmits them, substituting his own public key for the requested one. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
TLS is the successor to the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). What does TLS stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
You can tell that SSL is being used when you see the “https:” as part of the URL. True or false?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
Lisa Phifer provides a How To Guide on Implementing an SSL VPN.
Simple Steps To Keep Road Warriors Safe When Using Public Networks
Cryptography for Dummies by Chey Cobb has a chapter that explains in plain English how a VPN works.
Jan 15 2009 7:20PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
cryptography,
CIO,
Tech Trivia,
Security
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is cryptography.
Cryptography, the science of information security, is most often associated with scrambling plaintext into ciphertext then back again. The four main objectives of cryptography are confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation and authentication.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This type of encryption makes it possible for text to be decrypted into two different messages, depending on the key used. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
FDE automatically converts data on a hard drive into a form that cannot be understood by anyone who doesn’t have the key to undo the conversion. What does FDE stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
What’s the difference between cleartext and plaintext?
Answer (Scroll to the second paragraph.)
Learn Something New Every Day
Learn how cryptography, its components, methods and uses are employed in the enterprise to store and transmit messages safely.
IT Knowledge Exchange: Questions and answers about encryption
Dec 31 2008 5:24PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Networking,
Security,
biometrics,
compliance,
encryption,
CIO,
Mobile,
cloud computing,
communications,
top searches of 2008
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is Top search terms of 2008
You asked for them and here they are — we’ve assembled a list of the terms most often searched on the site this past year.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This term refers to any commonly used word (such as “the”) that a search engine has been programmed to ignore. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
ARPU is an expression of the income generated by a typical subscriber or device per unit time in a telecommunications network. What does ARPU stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
Number #1 on our list this year was SAP, a company started in Germany by five former employees of a certain technology company. What company did SAP’s founders originally work for?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
2008 was a challenging year for security. What will 2009 bring? See Five predictions for Web security trends and changes in 2009.
An expert explores whether security and compliance concerns in the cloud could hinder the viability of cloud computing.
Dec 19 2008 9:44PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Security,
Microsoft Windows,
browsers,
operating systems,
CIO,
antivirus,
malware,
network administration,
Tech Trivia,
personal computing
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is scareware
Scareware is a type of malware designed to trick victims into purchasing and downloading useless and potentially dangerous software. A scareware program usually generates pop-ups that resemble Windows system messages and warn the user that viruses or other problems have been detected.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This controversial rootkit program gets its name from a play on words mocking a Microsoft product. What’s the secret word?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
Scareware preys on users’ FUD. What does FUD stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
What browser was #1 on Bit9’s 2008 list of the most vulnerable applications? (Hint: It might not be the one you think it is.)
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
John Strand explains how to prevent clickjacking with security policies.
Ken Harthun writes about malware and vulnerabilities in his ITKE Security Corner blog.
Dec 8 2008 2:46PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Security,
network behavior analysis,
DDoS,
Packet Sniffing
Our WhatIs.com Tech Term is network behavior analysis.
The goal of network behavior analysis is to flag unknown, new or unusual traffic patterns that might indicate the presence of a security threat. Because it operates passively, NBA avoids latency or becoming a performance bottleneck.
Are you a Know-IT-All?
Secret Word of the Day
This popular open source network intrusion prevention and detection system is rules-based. Its logo is a pig. What is it?
Answer
Acronym Challenge
In a DDoS attack, an army of compromised systems attack a single target. What does DDoS stand for?
Answer
Tech Trivia
Which Hanna-Barbera Saturday-morning cartoon inspired a type of ping attack?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
2008 Products of the Year - Network Behavior Analysis
Security Spotlight: Network Behavior Analysis goes long and wide (by Lisa Phifer)
In this Webcast, security expert Ben Rothke will provide you with an overview of NBA and give you a deeper understanding of threats that are not visible to traditional signature-based IDS/IPS solutions.
Dec 5 2008 12:16PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Security,
encryption,
CIO,
Mobile,
Tech Trivia
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is full-disk encryption.
Tech Trivia
What key do you press during Windows bootup to start in safe mode?
Answer (Scroll to the end of the definition.)
Secret Word of the Day
This formula for solving a problem is named for a mathematician in the royal court in Baghdad, circa 830 A.D. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
The DES algorithm is considered so difficult to break that the U.S. government restricted its exportation to other countries. What does DES stand for?
Answer
Dec 1 2008 4:07PM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
spyware,
Database,
CRM,
CIO,
DataManagement,
data mining,
marketing,
Tech Trivia
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is data mining.
Tech Trivia
What controversial software did AT&T develop for data mining telephone records?
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
This is a body of tools used to discover and analyze patterns in data so that past behavior can be used to forecast likely future behavior. What’s the Secret Word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
Consumer data is increasingly being gathered at POS. What does POS stand for?
Answer
Nov 14 2008 11:58AM GMT
Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Security,
hacking,
spyware,
malware,
network administration,
Tech Trivia
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is fast flux DNS.
Tech Trivia
Enterprising cybercriminals are turning to corporate data theft because ________ has become so common that there’s not enough profit in it.
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
This is an exploit in which malicious coding is hidden beneath apparently legitimate buttons or other clickable content on a website. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
A DSO exploit takes advantage of data binding to gain access to the hard drive of a computer connected to the Internet. What does DSO stand for?
Answer
Nov 6 2008 5:24PM GMT
Posted by: Alex Howard
hardware,
Security,
Sun Microsystems,
operating systems,
DataCenter,
open source,
malware,
server,
Tech Trivia,
Business software
The WhatIs.com Word of the Day is Flexible Mandatory Access Control (FMAC).
Tech Trivia
What operating system preceded Solaris at Sun Microsystems?
Answer
Secret Word of the Day
This open source program is designed to automatically and quickly generate scanners, also known as tokenizers, which recognize lexical patterns in text. What’s the secret word?
Answer
IT Acronym Challenge
SPARC is a 32- and 64-bit microprocessor architecture from Sun Microsystems that is based on reduced instruction set computing (RISC). What does SPARC stand for?
Answer
Learn Something New Every Day
